John thomas wright



N0. 426,354. Patented Apr. 22, 1890.

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J. T. WRIGHT.

PLANTER.

No. 426,354. Patented Apr. 22, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J OHN THOMAS NVRIGHT, OF COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE.

PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,354, dated April 22, 1890.

Application filed February 6, 1890. Serial No. 339,464. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN THOMAS l/VRIGHT, of Columbia, in the county of Maury and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Planters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved planter. Fig. 2 is a top view thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional detail view through the feed-hopper, enlarged. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on line at m, Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are details.

This invention is an improved seed-planting machine, and especially designed for planting corn, and is a walking planter and cultivator employing a reciprocating-slide feed device operated by a pitman and wheel; and the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings by letter,A designates the plow-beam, a straight bar of wood preferably, and B designates the plow-standard, which is formed of two straps Z) b,united at their lower ends to form the foot of the standard and embracing between their upper ends the beam A, and secured thereto near the rear end thereof by a transverse bolt B. The standard curves downward and forward, and its opposite members Z) l are perforated at b b in their upper end to permit the vertical adjustment of the standard in relation to the beam.

C designates a brace-iron, the front lower end of which is secured between the members of standard B, about midway thereof, while its rear end is bolted to the under side of the beam, as at c. This brace thus lies behind the point or share D, that is fastened to the standard by a bolt D, adjustable in a slot in the lower end of standard B. The brace thus located does not interfere with the adjustment of the share or point.

E E designate the handles, bolted to the beam at their lower ends and supported above the point by means of a U-shaped strap or brace e, as shown, that is bolted to the beam at its bend.

F F designate cultivator-arms on opposite sides of-the beam and connected thereto at their upper and front ends by a bolt F. The said arms bend outwardly and rearwardly from the beam and are curved at their ends downwardly, asat ff, their lower ends being formed into a foot f, perforated for the passage of bolts 9, that secure the shovels or blades G G thereto, as indicated in the draw ings. The arms are braced near their rear ends and bound to the beam by means of a transverse rod G, extending through the arms and beam and nutted on its end, blocks or sleeves being slipped on the rod between the arms and beam to hold the same properly apart. The beam A is notched on each side, as at a a, between the standard and sleeves g, to accommodate the dropping-tubes or seed-spout.

The seed-box H has a metallic bottom H, formed of opposite side pieces h h, connected at their ends by suitable cross-pieces, and leaving a longitudinal slot 77. for the feed .slide I to work in. This seed-slide is longer than the box, so as not to escape from the slot when reciprocated, and it has two or more seed-openings i 1', suitably arranged so as to feed out two plantings for each reciprocation of the slide. An opening 7 in the bottom of the box permits the escape of the seed from the slide-openings as the slide reciprocates.

J designates the dropper-tube, having perforated side flanges J, by which it is attached to the beam A by suitable screws or other fastenings, the tube lying partly in one of the recesses of the beam, as shown, so that the seed can pass directly through the tube to the rear of the furrow-opening shovel, and the lower end of the tube is fastened to brace O, as shown.

h h are lugs rising from pieces h h, adjoining openings j and s. Said lugs are transversely slotted for the reception of the ends of a short shaft K, which lies loosely therein just above opening j, and carries a central ball or force-feed device is.

L designates a plate overlying said shaft and lugs and secured in position thereover by means of upstanding bolts Z, that pass through lugs h and suitable openings in plate L, and are properly nutted to bind the plate. This plate has an opening L in it just above 5 ball 70, so that the latter, with its shaft, is allowed a limited vertical movement sufficient to permit the ball to ride up out of the openings in the feed-slide without injury thereto. The ball as the slide reciprocates thereunder partly drops into the openings therein, driving out the seed caught in said openings and preventing bridging thereof in the slide.

M designates a standard rising centrally from plate L, and having a bore m just above opening L, in which bore is placed a weight K, that rests upon ball 70 and operates to force the same down and assist in clearing the slide-openings of seed. The front and rear faces of said standard. are concaved, as at M, and to these faces are clamped brushes N N, which are held thereto by means of a yoke N, which embraces the brushes and the standard and has its ends screw-threaded and connected by a cross-piece N which is secured by thumb-nuts N The sides ofyoke N rest in notches m in the sides of standard M, as shown.

The holders N N have brushes u on their lower ends, which impinge against the slide and prevent overfilling of the slide-openings by seed as they pass under the standard.

designates a wheel supported on a bracket 0, attached to the front end of thebeam A.

P designates a pitman-rod,tl1e front end of which is bent inward at right angles, as at P, and secured in a hollow bearing 0 in a spoke of wheel 0, as shown. From this bearing the rod is bent upwardly until about opposite the beam and then backwardly parallel with the beam, its rear end 19 being bent into an L shape and engaged with the front end of slide I, as shown, so that the slide is reciprocated once for each revolution of the wheel 0. If the pitman were straight, the slide would be pulled downward as well as forward during the rotation of the wheel, and hence binding of the slide in the box would occur; but by bowing its ends, as described, such binding is prevented and the pitman is not caught or impeded by trash in the path of the plow.

The seed-box, wheel, and pitman can be shifted to the right or left of the beam, as desired, and a double seed-box or a single seedbox having two slides may be used by connecting the slides so that they are operated simultaneously by the pitman. The planting devices can be readily removed from the beam, adapting the machine for use as a cultivator, or the cultivator-arms can be removed and a turning-plow mounted on the standard. These are subordinate advantages of my invention.

By setting the lower end of the feed-tube forward it throws the seed into the furrow before the furrow closes up, thereby planting 1 thereon, is

1. In combination with the seed-box of a planter and a reciprocating seed-slide, the horizontal shaft K, moving vertically between slotted lugson the hopper-bottom, the ball on said shaft, the vertical hollow standard secured above said shaft, and the weight in i said standard resting loosely upon said ball,

for the purpose substantially as described.

2. The combination of the beam, the seed box havinga longitudinal slot, a central feedopening, a vertical standard secured above said opening having its front and rear faces concaved, the brush-holders N N, resting in said concave faces, and the yoke N, attaching the same to said standard, with the seedslide and actuating devices therefor, substantially as specified.

3. The seed-box H, having a longitudinal slot and a central feed-opening in its bottom, transversely-slotted lugsoneaoh side of said opening, a plate bolted to said lugs and having an upstanding hollow standard above said opening, and the seed-slide, in combination with the shaft K, resting in the slots of said lugs, its ball is, the weight K, loosely confined in the standard and bearing on said ball, and the brush-holders N, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination, in a planter, of the beam A, the standard B, and brace 0, constructed substantially'as described, with the seed-box H, the reciprocating slide I, the wheel T O, lying below the beam in front of the plow,

the pitman-rod P, having its ends bent into L shape, substantially as described, and the seed-spout, and the force-feed devices in said seed-box, and the cultivator arms and blades, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of the beam A, the handles, the feed-box, the feed-spout partly resting in notches in the side of the beam, the

standard B, brace C, and the cultivator-arms F F, and their brace-rod G, with the feedslide I, the cut-0E devices in the box, the hanger O on the front of the beam, the wheel 0, suspended thereby beneath the beam, and

the pitman P, having its ends P p bent as. 

